In a typical cellular wireless communication system, a radio access network (RAN) includes a plurality of base stations that radiate to define coverage areas in which subscriber devices such as cell phones and other wirelessly-equipped devices can operate. In such a system, air interface communications between a base station and a served subscriber device in a given coverage area may occur on a particular frequency channel, such as a defined 1.25 MHz band or pair of bands (e.g., one for forward link communications from the base station to the subscriber device, and another for reverse link communications from the subscriber device to the base station).
When a subscriber device is engaged in a call (e.g., voice call or data session) while being served by a particular base station on a particular frequency channel and the subscriber device starts to lose coverage, it may be beneficial for the subscriber device to hand off to be served by another nearby base station. An issue may arise, however, when nearby base stations do not provide coverage on the same frequency channel as the currently serving base station. In that scenario, the subscriber device may need to engage in an inter-frequency handoff process, in which the call would be transferred from one frequency channel to another.